The Arts and Crafts Movement: William Morris and his circle

You're Dead to Me

BBC

Comedy, History

4.7 • 10.9K Ratings

🗓️ 14 February 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Greg Jenner is joined in Victorian England by Dr Isabella Rosner and comedian Cariad Lloyd to learn all about the ethos, practitioners and creations of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Most people have heard of William Morris, one of the leaders of the Arts and Crafts movement that came to prominence in England in the last decades of the 19th Century. His abstract, nature-inspired designs still adorn everything from wallpaper and curtains to notebooks and even dog beds. And the company he founded, Morris & Co., is still going strong. But the history of this artistic movement, and the other creatives who were involved, is less well known.

Arts and Crafts, which advocated a return to traditional handicrafts like needlework, carpentry and ceramics, was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and included a strong socialist vision: its practitioners wanted everyone to have access to art, and to be able to enjoy homes that were comfortable, functional and beautiful. This episode explores Morris and other creatives both in and outside his circle, including Edward Burne-Jones, May Morris, Gertrude Jekyll and Philip Webb. It looks at the ethos that inspired them, the homes and artworks they created, and asks how radical their political beliefs really were.

If you’re a fan of groundbreaking artistic developments, gorgeous interior design, the intersection between art and politics, and Victorian interpersonal drama, you’ll love our episode on the Arts and Crafts movement.

If you want more from Cariad Lloyd, check out our episodes on Georgian Courtship and Mary Wollstonecraft. And for more British artistic movements, listen to our episode on the Bloomsbury Group.

You’re Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past.

Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Jon Norman-Mason Written by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Ben Hollands Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: James Cook

Transcript

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0:55.5	First, on BBC Sounds.
0:58.6	Hello and welcome to You're Dead to Me, the Radio 4 comedy podcast that takes history seriously.
1:03.7	My name is Greg Jenner. I'm a public historian, author and broadcaster.
1:07.1	And today we are packing our William Morris hook bags and heading back to the 19th century
1:11.7	to learn all about the arts and crafts movement. And to help us spin this story, we have two
1:17.0	practitioners of very different arts. In History Corner, she's curator of the Royal School
1:22.0	of Needlework and a research consultant at Whitney Antiques. She's an art historian of the
1:26.1	material culture of the 17th to
1:27.6	19th centuries with a particular focus on needlework. You might have listened to her podcast. So what?
1:33.2	It's a pun. It's Dr. Isabella Rosner. Welcome, Isabella. Thank you so much. I'm really excited
	...

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